Page 13 - Retail World March 2021

ROMEO’S EUROPEAN INSPIRED FOOD HALL Romeo’s Retail Group is preparing to open Sydney’s first Locali by Romeo’s food hall at 388 George Street in the CBD. The European-inspired fresh food hall is set to open mid this month. A second Locali by Romeo’s will open mid-year at the Brookfield Place Sydney multiplex, also in the city’s CBD. The 388 George Street store, in the lower level of the building, will have pedestrian access via both King and George Streets. The group has signed a 15-year lease for about 1600sqm of space and will deliver a contemporary fresh food market featuring a walk-in cheese room, commercial kitchen, dine-in cafe and restaurant, sushi bar, meat and fish offering, continental delicatessen, nut bar, salumi bar, “authentic” fresh pizza, Italian bakery, florist, and a liquor store (offering wine tastings). “Our unique in-store experience of fresh food and dine-in options is strongly supported by our niche, locally sourced products, which support Australian farmers and producers,” Romeo Retail Group owner and Director Joseph Romeo said. “This is complemented by our unique global range.” The $200 million transformation project of 388 George Street was completed in November last year. Brookfield Properties Executive Vice President and Co-Head Danny Poljak says the Romeo family is innovating the way Sydneysiders and CBD workers view their local grocer. “With Locali by Romeo’s, they’re really carving out a niche in the Sydney market by providing outstanding food and beverage choice combined with everyday essentials and amenity,” he said. NEWS WOOLWORTHS PRESENTS HALF-YEAR RESULTS Woolworths’ half-year results show an increase of 10.6 per cent in group sales to a total of $35,845 million. “I’m incredibly proud of the achievements of our team during the half, which went well beyond our financial results,” Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci said. Total sales for the Australian food division increased 10.6 per cent to $23.4 billion, with comparable sales increasing 9.3 per cent (9.6 per cent excluding tobacco). Metro food stores sales for the half declined 6.7 per cent to $456 million, impacted by reduced foot traffic across CBD areas and transit hubs, where comparable sales declined by about 50 per cent. First-half comparable items growth of four per cent was driven by a 14.4 per cent increase in comparable items per basket, partially offset by a 9.1 per cent decline in comparable transactions, with customers continuing to shop less frequently but with larger baskets. Higher e-commerce penetration also contributed to the growth in items per basket. E-commerce sales rose 77.9 per cent with a total of $2,937 million and group EBIT total rose 10.5 per cent with a total of $2,092 million. “We supported our customers, whether they wanted to shop in-store or online, and were able to do this in a safe and convenient way,” Mr Banducci said. “The first half of F21 continued to be impacted by Covid, with elevated sales and higher costs, as we worked to maintain a CovidSafe environment for our customers and team.” Australian food, BIG W and endeavour drinks divisions all reported sales growth well above trend. “Endeavour drinks sales continued to benefit from increased at-home consumption and trading up, with Dan Murphy’s and BWS both maintaining strong sales growth during the half and achieving record Christmas Eve sales,” Mr Banducci said. “Total sales increased by 19 per cent and EBIT grew 24.1 per cent, despite higher costs associated with Covid, team wages, and investment in digital and e-commerce.” “In November 2020, we launched our ‘group sustainability plan 2025’, underpinned by five guiding principles and organised into three focus areas of people, plant and product, to guide our journey towards a better tomorrow,” the retailer said. During the half, 13 net new stores were opening, including eight supermarkets and five Metro food stores, with 35 renewals completed. Three new dedicated e-commerce fulfilment centres were opened in Lidcombe (Sydney), Notting Hill and Carrum Downs (both Melbourne). Carrum Downs was also “the first e-store to deploy Takeoff micro- fulfilment technology in the southern hemisphere,” Woolworths said. At the end of the quarter, there were 994 supermarkets and 70 Metro food stores, with a total fleet of 1064 stores. At the end of the half, six Metro food stores in metropolitan locations remained closed. “In summary, by living our purpose of ‘creating better experiences together for a better tomorrow’, we’ve successfully navigated a challenging 2020, continued to put our customers and team first, and delivered a strong group financial result,” Mr Banducci said. MAR, 2021 RETAIL WORLD 11